Not everyone gets the ending they deserve
by newyorklover
Summary: He inhaled her scent one last time, the stomach twisting scent that hit his brain and his kneecaps just as hard every time. DRAMIONE ONESHOT, High rating due to brief use of strong language to be on the safe side. Left incomplete just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing, JK Rowling is a genius and I wish Draco Malfoy existed in real life. Alas, alas. **

"Let me go," she breathed, half-heartedly gliding her hands up his chest to push him away. He held her waist even more fiercely if it was possible, skimming his hot mouth over the delicate patch of skin between her neck and shoulder.

"Why won't you understand? It doesn't matter what they think. Fuck them! We deserve this, after everything. Don't we?" His eyes pleaded the question his voice was breaking in asking. With everything she knew in that second, she wanted to say yes. But saying yes would mean the end of everything she knew, taking this risk.

"We can't, Draco. You know we can't. This is all so romantic now, but you'll end up hating me for not turning you down. You'll grow bitter as you grow older, holding me responsible for this irrational desire in your heart, and you'll have nothing to show for it except a name that means nothing to anyone else and the scars of rejection from your family and the wizarding world. Don't you see? We can only be temporary, caught in a patch of time that can't exist in the real world. If we existed there, our lives would be nothing like this."

She rested her head under his chin, heaving a bitter sigh. This was the only way it could be. The end was soon, the war was coming to its final moment. Either way, one of them would lose. She knew this. If one of them lost, they would both lose. She wouldn't want to pin her hopes on an already fading dream, they could never happen.

He stroked her back calmly, nuzzling her forehead with his lips and closing his eyes. He wouldn't break, and let her make this silly choice. Of course they had a chance. He was rich enough to take them far away from everything, to empty his Gringotts vault now and disregard his inheritance would still leave him with more than enough money for several lifetimes. His family would understand. They had to. Briefly, a glimpse of his Mother shot across the back of his eyelids. Her smile, her gentle look of pride that her son would live, and make the decision she never could.

But her mind could not be changed. She was saving them heartbreak; she couldn't run away with him and turn her back. She felt tears trailing down her cheeks, in the smooth unhurried way that his hands were making motions on her back. It was time to let him go.

He inhaled her scent one last time, the stomach twisting scent that hit his brain and his kneecaps just as hard every time. He felt like he was living and dying in her presence, she made him _feel, _but he always had the reminder that this couldn't last, and so he died a little inside every time he saw her.

Stepping back, Hermione took a shuddering deep breath and stared at his face. She had to do this, she was strong enough. He wasn't taking this lying down, and every resolve in his face staring at her was like pins shredding her heart like ribbons.

"We will see each other again. Maybe not soon, even years, but I promise we will. I will run to you the second I catch a glimpse of your eyes –"she kissed his eyelids, "or those hands –"she clutched them to her chest, "or those lips. I will kiss your lips with everything I am." She grazed her lips one last time over his mouth, running her fingers through his hair and smiled at him, her first and only love.

"Grow old with someone who makes you happy. Love a beautiful girl, have the life you deserve. Don't stay here and be killed, because that would break my heart more than knowing you are safe somewhere, and happy." His eyes widened, and he choked on his last words to her.

"You must know this. You are the only person I could be truly happy with, no matter what. I want you to be the one I grow old with, and I will never stop searching for you when this is all over. I will come back to you, I promise. Don't give up on me."

They stepped back simultaneously, knowing that the time was right. He wouldn't give up, and she wouldn't give in. Their hearts twisted in an impending fate of uncertainty, leaving behind the constants that had been this time together.

She disappeared with a tiny –pop- and he was left there, standing at the edge of the little Churchyard in a village whose name he had forgotten. The wind brought her lemon and soap breath of fresh air back into his nostrils for the last time, and he turned away to walk for as long as possible before he disapparated home and lay on the grass for hours, staring at nothing and not hearing the world around him.

**A/N **

**So, this was a kind of oneshot that is pure sentimental fluff and I didn't know whether I wanted to see the light of day. I'm not opposed to a second chapter, I kinda like leaving it ambiguous though. It would only be one more chapter to conclude if I ever felt like giving this a conclusion. So, review and tell me what you think. I hope you liked it! **

**newyorklover**


	2. Chapter 2

The pain flashed across Draco's body. He could hear a steady beeping in the background, and cool crisp cotton sheets tucked him in comfortably. His breathing was slow and his mind felt groggy and-where was he? His eyes snapped open and he struggled to focus. Through the hazy blur of the medicine he just managed to make out a figure dashing out the door before he could open his mouth in question of their identity. What on earth was going on?

The nurse looked up from her clipboard to see the visitor leave his room for the first time since he'd been brought in. She smiled sadly at her dedication, even though the news the visitor bore was going to break his heart. As she approached her, the visitor looked up from the cup of water she was holding with trembling hands.

"He looks so fragile."

"He will do, he's been unconscious for nearly two weeks. I'm just relieved you've left the room – sleeping on the sofa and using his bathroom is understandable but not necessary. He'll wake up."

The visitor smiled wryly. "Oh I know. He's stirring now. But I can't tell him, about her-"

The nurse laid a hand on her shoulder calmly. "He will understand. He knew it was required of you, and he'll know that you did it to keep him safe. You're very lucky that he even made it out alive. To bring them both out would have been a miracle."

The visitor took a long shuddering breath and closed her eyes. "He will never forgive me."

"He will, in time. After all, you are his –'' Snapping her head up, she narrowed her eyes at the man approaching. He cleared his throat nervously and leaned heavily on the cane he was carrying.

"I am informed he is waking up."

"He is, Mr. Malfoy. If you would please wait here, the doctor is already in with him." He nodded curtly and sat down with difficulty. The nurse went over to Draco's room and slipped through the door without opening it wide enough to let them see. Following her eyes to the room, he perused the woman in front of him.

"How are you going to tell him? And are you sure we are doing the right thing in having him treated by doctors knowledgeable of us in a muggle hospital?" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It will certainly keep the press out of our hair for a short while longer."

She nodded in agreement. "I almost lost him. We **both **almost lost him. I will not do that to him. He doesn't need to be the freak show. But he needs to know about her before he finds out on his own."

"I will do it." He looked her in the eye, and she had the beginnings of a protest rising in her throat. But she caught the glimpse of determination and sadness and let out a wordless sigh. "If you must."

Draco stared at the Doctor who was examining him. She didn't look like the figure who had left his room in her white coat and red hair, but he might have imagined that. All he could feel was pain and tiredness, and an odd aching in the crux of his chest. Accepting the sip of water the Doctor helping him drink from the cup, he caught sight of his wand lying on the table next to him and it all started flashing back and he let out a shriek of anguish as he remembered Hermione falling, with blood on her forehead and her hands from trying to stem the blow and she couldn't be dead no she couldn't she'd promised she'd promised she'd live and no no no NO.

"Nurse! I need something to knock him out quick! He's going to hurt something if he doesn't calm down quickly!" The tears rolled down Draco's face as he felt the medicine seep through his system. She wasn't dead. She wasn't dead. _Please don't let her be dead_ was his last thought as black took over.

_Three years later._

He hurried through the graveyard with a sunflower in his hand and a smile on his face. He had some wonderful news to share with her, and even though she was gone she was still an important person to tell. She would always be there.

Clutching his wife's hand and just managing to stop in time, he sucked in air to calm his pulse.

"Draco, breathe. I'm sure she'd be happy for us. She loved you with all her heart and I thank her for you every day." Kneeling down on the grave, she pulled her husband down with her. He laid the sunflower at the stone and traced the letters with a sad smile on his face.

"You should be here for this. You should know – I'm-we're having a baby," he said. "We're having a baby, and if it's a girl you'll be in her name somewhere," he turned his head to smile at his wife. She nodded and smiled back.

"Of course, and if it's a boy we'll just have to have another one," she laughed and her husband hugged her tightly. She rose to her feet and cast a charm on the flower to keep it fresh. "I'm so sorry that you'll never get to hold your grandchild, Narcissa," she said quietly. "If I could have saved you, I would have. But I was injured and blood loss and-" she cut off as her husband took her into his arms.

"Hermione. It wasn't your fault. You shouldn't feel guilt. My mother is at peace and she wouldn't want you to hold on. You are the mother of her grandchild and she loved you before, during, and after that battle." He wiped the tear from her cheek and turned back to the grave.

"Mum, I miss you. Keep an eye on the baby until they get here," he rubbed Hermione's stomach and grasped her hand. "We'll be back soon."

The couple turned and walked out of the graveyard in Godric's Hollow they had stood in three years previously saying goodbye. Not everyone gets the ending they deserve but sometimes, just sometimes, they do.

**A/N** **Oh my goodness, hello! It has been far too long. I've had had a manic first year at university. I've finished for the summer, and I'm back on writing. Thank you for reviews for all stories and I hope to pick up the pace quickly. I hope you liked this ending!**


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